The Beeching Legacy
Volume 5South and South East England

The year 1963 was memorable to many for the publication by Her Majesty's Stationery Office of Part 1 of the report 'The Reshaping of British Railways' by Dr Richard Beeching, then chairman of the British Railways Board. The term 'reshaping' was somewhat of a euphemism as the Report envisaged a radical reduction in the national rail network. Hundreds of stations were to be closed to both freight and passenger traffic, along with thousands of miles of track, while several thousand staff would be made redundant.

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The year 1963 was memorable to many for the publication by Her Majesty's Stationery Office of Part 1 of the report 'The Reshaping of British Railways' by Dr Richard Beeching, then chairman of the British Railways Board. The term 'reshaping' was somewhat of a euphemism as the Report envisaged a radical reduction in the national rail network. Hundreds of stations were to be closed to both freight and passenger traffic, along with thousands of miles of track, while several thousand staff would be made redundant.

The Beeching Legacy series provides a regional review of passenger services before and after the implementation of the Report. Volume 5 covers South and South East England. The 1960s saw a rapid reduction in the frequency and number of passenger trains in the area. This trend has fortunately now been reversed and today train services, which Dr Beeching considered redundant, are serving their communities once again. In no other part of the United Kingdom have so many stations, closed as a result of his Report, reopened while four passenger services have been reinstated. Today the future of these railways looks bright with the prospect of further modernisation and the electrification of many of the lines.

The latest book by author Philip Horton 'The Beeching Legacy Vol. 3: South & South East Englands and the Marches' reflects his lifelong interest in railways. He has spent many happy hours travelling on and photographing trains throughout the country for more than half a century.

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